Still Only Human
by Fairady
Summary: In the end a ninja is still a human being.
1. Attack

Disclaimer: Naruto and co. do not belong to me and I make no claim whatsoever on them. But if those that do own them ever feel the need to get rid of Gaara I'm perfectly willing to fight all other contenders to the death. 

Warnings: Pure fluff.

Notes: It's a weakness for me. I can't seem to help writing the Suna siblings as well...siblings. I'm sure most of you know how real siblings act. I'm setting this after the chuunin exams perhaps a year or two later.

Still only human  
by fairady

* * *

"Target spotted."

Temari eased back around the corner confident her prey hadn't noticed her presence. Now all she had to do was convince her small team to follow her lead. Not the most difficult of tasks, but she knew it would not be easy.

_Worth it_, she thought, _it'll all be worth it._

Several solemn eyes stared up at her as the children realized what her plan was. One little girl gasped, "Temari-saan, we can't!"

"Of course we can," Temari grinned broadly, "Don't worry about it. We just keep doing what we've done so far, ok? Absolutely nothing bad will happen, I promise."

"My dad says he's a monster," one of the boys whispered, "said he'll eat me if I get too close to him. Or he'll feed me to his sand if I make him mad."

Temari scowled as all the children nodded fearfully. Really, it was this type of shit that got on her nerves. Of course the kids would be scared, after all why would their parents lie to them?

"Allright, listen up," Temari crouched down to look them in the eyes, "I'm going to tell you the truth. Gaara is not a monster. He won't eat you and he won't feed you to his sand. Unless you actually try to hurt him the worst he'll ever do is look at you. And if any one really tries to hurt him they'll probably be in more trouble from me and Kankuro than Gaara. Trust me, I live with him."

"But," the boy whispered again, "he's so scary."

There really wasn't anything she could say about that. Temari stood back up, "Look, he's not a monster. Monsters are big and mean, with sharp teeth, and long claws. They don't walk around outside when the sun's up, or sit on a porch reading a book. Besides," she dropped her voice to a bare whisper, and looked around the corner to reconfirm Gaara's position, "how can a monster be ticklish?"

Temari grinned once more and pounced. Well, as much as she could. It was Gaara after all. She gave him enough warning to look up and recognize her before she tackled him to the ground. Sand rose to cushion their impact but none of it blocked her hands, and she immediately attacked his ribs.

"No!" Gaara's eyes widened in panic and he started wriggling, all his training forgotten as he was overtaken by the basic urge to just get away from it. But Temari still had the advantage of size over him, and she easily pinned him with her knees. Gaara managed to grab one of her hands just as the first giggle escaped him. "Temari...stop!"

"Never!" she crowed trying to pin his free arm with her knee without either letting him up or stopping her attack on his ribs. It was a tricky business as Gaara continued to squirm wildly gasping through his laughter. In another few minutes he'd remember he was a trained ninja, and without any backup the tables would be quickly turned against her. She abandoned his ribs and lightly tickled just under his chin.

That got a sort of squealing yelp from him, but she didn't have time to enjoy the small victory before Gaara neatly flipped them over. Temari's eyes widened as she found herself on the ground with both hands neatly held by one of Gaara's. It wasn't fair that his hands were bigger than her's, damnit! Gaara grinned down at her and-

"No!" Temari thrashed her head around. Bastard was going for the ticklish spot behind her ears! Her feet kicked uselessly at the ground, but even if she could get the traction she needed to escape Gaara was now in control enough to use his sand to pin her. She rolled sideways and shook with laughter, "Gaara!"

Gaara easily followed and switched his attack to just behind her jaw. Temari shook her head widely trying to repel it. A surprisingly deep laugh left him as he said, "Give up."

"N-no!" Temari gasped between laughs.

"Al-" Gaara's eyes widened suddenly and he jerked forward releasing her hands. Temari quickly took the advantage and scrabbled out of range. Not that Gaara was paying any attention to her. He looked down at the little girl in mute surprise.

The girl took it rather well considering how frightened she'd been earlier. After a few seconds had passed without her being torn apart or eaten she bravely reached out and tickled Gaara's ribs again. A surprised laugh escaped him and he edged backwards, hands hovering uselessly in the air, clearly unsure of what to do with the small child. He threw a pleading look her way before collapsing under the now giggling girl's attacks.

Temari grinned as the group of kids, emboldened by the girl's success, slowly closed in on him. The look of surprised panic she caught before his face disappeared under the mass of playful kids was priceless, and whatever revenge he might come up with later would be worth it for seeing that small, real smile.


	2. Handymen

Disclaimer: Naruto and co. do not belong to me and I make no claim whatsoever on them. But if those that do own them ever feel the need to get rid of Gaara I'm perfectly willing to fight all other contenders to the death. 

Warnings: Pure fluff.

Notes: It's a weakness for me. I can't seem to help writing the Suna siblings as well...siblings. I'm sure most of you know how real siblings act. I'm setting this after the chuunin exams perhaps a year or two later.

Still only human  
by fairady

* * *

Gaara watched a group of kids run down the street chasing their ball. He crouched easily in the building's shadow under an open window.

"A little higher," Kankuro shouted, voice carrying easily through the window.

Gaara glanced through a hole in the building's wall before moving the pipe he held to the left a little. "Like that?"

"Perfect," Kankuro grunted from under the sink. "Anyway I was thinking we should replace all the pipes in the house. If the kitchen pipes were this bad the others might go out soon too."

"No, they should be fine," Gaara glanced back in and subtly pulled the pipe back. "This one just wears out faster because it's the only pipe that's exposed to the elements," he blinked as the pipe was jerked suddenly and looked back in, "Wait, I don't think that's where it goes."

"I know what I'm doing, Gaara," one of Kankuro's eyes glared out at him through the hole. "Just hold it still."

"Right," Gaara sat back a bit and watched the kid's game as it ranged back up the street. Various curses and insults flowed in a steady stream through the open window. He propped his head up on one hand and wondered how many parents would come to complain about the new words their child had learned this time. A muffled thump that shook the wall slightly was followed by several blistering words.

Gaara frowned slightly, "Are you making that up or is there actually a curse you've never used before?"

"Shut up!" the pipe jumped in Gaara's hands as Kankuro yanked it loose. His voice warned Gaara not to say anything, "I see what the problem is."

"Ah," Gaara looked in and raised the pipe. It looked like his brother was actually telling the truth this time as the pipe gave him little trouble. "So you did make it up?"

"Brat, I'm about five seconds from smashing this wrench into your head," a worn looking wrench was shoved through the hole in emphasis before disappearing, "now let me work in peace."

"Ok," Gaara waited a few moments, "You do know that's the wrong size, right?"

There was no doubt, he was definitely making those words up.


End file.
